Press-box.



w. 1. FITZGERALD.

PRESS BOX.

APPLICATION FILED APR- 30. NH.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

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W. 3. FITZGERALD;

PRESS Box; APPLICATION FILED APR.30. umf

1;,259,843.' Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

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WILLIAM J". FITZGERALD, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

rREss-Box.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, XVILLIAM J. FITz- GERALD, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain'newand useful Improvements in Press-Boxes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved press box, and has for its primary object to provide a box or retainer for the material, such as tankage, so that all of the water may be expressed therefrom and the product utilized as a fertilizer.

It is another object of my invention to provide a press box or retainer of the above character which is provided with a plurality of detachable walls, certain of the walls having doors vertically slidable and adapted to be engaged by the arms of the pressing head to be moved downwardly therewith as the compressing action upon the material progresses.

It is another important object of the invention to provide an improved arrangement of separators, including spaced, relatively fixed, supporting members secured to the bottom of the box and separating members secured to the under side of the movable top which are disposed intermediate of said fixed separators, whereby the water is more thoroughly expressed from the material.

It is also a further general object of the invention to improve and simplify the construction of press boxes or retainers of the above character, whereby the same are rendered highly efficient and serviceable in practical use and capable of manufacture at small cost.

With'the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described. claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the invention, certain of the parts being broken away; 7

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the press box, the presser head being illus trated in dotted lines; 7

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through one corner of the box;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar..19, 1918.

Application filedApri130, 1917. Serial No. 165,55

Fig. 4; is a detail perspective view of the bottom of, the press box, showing the arrangement of the removable separators, and

Fig. 5is an inverted perspective view of the movable top or lid.

Referring in detail to the drawings, '5 designates the base of the press box which is in the form of a shallow, rectangular pan having a marginal, upstanding wall or flange 6. WVithin this base pan, the several'vertical walls of the box structure are adapted to be arranged. Each of these box walls preferably consists of two sections, each section having a plurality of vertically disposed slats or bars 7. These vertical slat-s of the lower box section are adapted to be braced against outward pressures by means of the horizontal bars 8, said bars being connected to each other at the corners of the box structure by means of the removable pins 9. Hinge bars 10 are also fixed tothe slats 7 above and below the tie bar 8, and are pro vided with knuckles connected by the hinge pintles 11. The upper and lower ends of the slats 7 are angularly disposed and extended outwardly, as shown at 12, and upon the same the marginal bars 13 are suitably secured. These bars 13 extend along all four sides of the structure. The upper section of the box also has the hinge bars or plates 14 secured to the slats 7 thereof which are connected by the pintles 15. The lower ends of the slats of the upper box section also project outwardly, and to the under sides of the same, the marginal bar 16 is secured, while to. the angularly disposed upper ends of the slats,.the top marginal bars '17 are fixed on the upper'faces thereof.

I The opposed side walls of the lower box section have their intermediate portions set inwardly, as indicated at 18, each of these inwardly set wall portions having the spaced, vertical slats thereof secured together at their upper andlower ends and fixed to the vertical slats 7 in spaced rela-- rectangular frame. having. spaced, vertical slats, said frame being disposed in the plane of the slats 7 and having sliding contact at its ends with the slats at the opposite sides of the door opening. The strips or bars 17 are notched or recessed, as at 21, to receive the ends of the frame, and guide strips 22 are secured to the bars 17 at the edges of the door opening and extend downwardly to the upper edge of the inwardly set portion 18 of the wall of the lower box section. The lower edge of the door frame, when the door is in its elevated or closed position, is disposed between the bar 16 and the upper edge of the wall section 18, the ends of the door frame being engaged in the rabbets or recesses 19 provided in the opposite ends of said wall section. Thus, it will be seen that the doors 20 may slide vertically from a closed position over the door openings of the upper box section to an open position upon the walls of the lower box section.

The upper edges of the portions 18 of the walls of the lower box section are centrally provided upon their inner faces with the keepers 23 to receive the angularly disposed ends 25 of a tie rod or brace 24. This tie rod or brace connects the spaced separators 26, each of said separators being formed of a plurality of spaced, bent, metal bars 27, the end portions of which are convergently disposed. Between these spaced portions of the bars 27 horizontal brace members 28 are secured, said members being disposed in vertical, spaced relation and extending the entire length of the separator.

29 designates a movable metal top or lid which is hinged within the box or retainer 1 and upon which the plunger or presser head of a hydraulic press is adapted to directly engage. Spaced separators 30- are fixed to the under side of this lid by means of the bolts indicated at 31, said separators being co-extensive in length with the separators 26 of a similar construction, though of less height than the latter separators. These separators 30 of the lid are also arranged in vertical planes intermediate of the spaced separators 26.

After the presser head has moved below the upper edge of the box or retainer, the movable braces 32 are adapted to be disposed across the box adjacent opposite sides thereof. the ends of said braces being angularly disposed, as at 83, to engage over the top marginal bars 17.

The entire inner face of each wall of each of. the box sections is covered by a wire mesh screen, burlap or other suitable reticulated material indicated at 34;, such material being also secured upon the inner faces of the vertically movable doors 20. While I have illustrated the open construction of the box. walls vcovered by/ the screeningmaterial, it is tobev understood that if desired, in practice. the; Walls; of: the, box: sectionsmay be of solid metal, suitable provision being made for draining oif the water which is expressed from the material. In the illustrated construction, the spacing members 26 of the separators serve as means for conducting the water to the sides of the box.

-Any suitable means may be provided for securing the edges of the screening material to the marginal strips 18, 16 and 17 of the box sections, and the bottom strip 13 on the lower section of the box is adapted to fit tightly within the upstanding flange 6 on thebase pan 5.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the construction and manner of use of my improved press box will be clearly and fully understood. The upper and lower sections of the box are set up and their several walls connected together shown in Fig. 1, the bars 8 being disposed upon the outer faces of the walls of the lower box section and detachably connected together by the pins 9. As the lower edges of the doors 20 fit down between the upper edges of the inset wall portions 18 and the marginal strip 18 of the lower section, and the wall portions 18 are connected by the central brace bar 21, it will be seen that the upper section of the box is also strongly braced and retained in its proper position with respect to the lower section of the box. The tankage or other material having been placed within the box sections, the hydraulically operated plunger or presser head exerting downward pressure upon the top or lid 29 forces the latter downwardly between the walls of the box or retainer. The laterally projecting arms of the presser head engage upon the upper edges of the doors 20 and also force said doors downwardly upon the lower section. of the box. In this downward movement of the metal lid or top 29, the water or other liquid is expressed from the material, and the water seeps through the reticulated covering on the walls of the box sections and is also conducted to the sides of the box through the several separators 26 and 30' as above stated. These separators act to further compress or compact the material in. lateral directions so that all of the water will be removed from the material. This water'saturated material is compressed to about 55% of its original bulk. After the compressing operation, the material is practically dry. Digestive tankage treated in this manner may be utilized advantageously as a fertilizing material. This tankage is subjected to a pressure of about 3500 pounds to the square foot. It will be understood, however, that my invention may also be employed for expressing water or other liquids from other materials requiring less pressure, and in such cases the walls of the box or retainer sectionscan be conwith the separators 26 and whenever it becomes necessary to remove these separators inthe use of the device, the top braces 32 are applied in order to prevent the collapse of the top section of the box. It will thus be seen that I have produced a press box or retainer of relatively simple construction and one which may be easily and quickly set up in condition for use or collapsed. I have found the invention to be highly satisfactory for the intended purpose, and capable of withstanding a very high pressure without injury thereto. The box may, of course, be made of any desired size and the open construction of the walls of the box sections may also be variously modified.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A press box having vertically slidable wall sections adapted for engagement by the arms of a presser head to be moved downwardly with respect to the box walls in the compression of the material.

'2. A presser box including upper and lower box sections, said upper section having opposed, vertically movable walls, and guides for said walls on the lower box section, said walls being forced downwardly in the guides by arms on the presser head in the compression of the material.

3. A press box including upper and lower box sections, opposed vertically slidable doors on the upper box section, said lower box section having portions of its corresponding walls inwardly offset and constituting guides for the vertically movable walls of the upper section, and a bracing connection between said offset walls of the lower box section.

4. A press box including upper and lower box sections, opposed vertically slidable doors on the upper box section, said lower box section having portions of its corre sponding walls inwardly offset and constituting guides for the vertically movable walls of the upper section, a bracing connection between said offset walls of the lower box section, and depending, spaced separators on said brace connection.

5. A press box including vertical body walls, a lid moved downwardly under pressure within the box, spaced relatively stationary separators in the lower portion of the box, and separators fixed to the under side of said lid, said latter separators being disposed in vertical planes intermediate of the stationary separators.

6. 'A'press box including vertical body walls, a centrally disposed, removable brace connecting the opposed walls of the box,

spaced stationary separators depending from said brace, a vertically movable lid to compressthe material, and spaced separators fixed to the under side of said lid. and disposed in vertical planes intermediate of the separators on said brace.

7. A press box including vertical body walls, and a plurality of spaced separators within said box, each of the separators having a plurality of water conducting members to conduct the water expressed from the material tothe sides of the box.

8. A press box including vertical body walls, and a plurality of spaced separators within said box, each of saidseparators including a plurality of spaced, metal straps bent to provide opposed portions, and braces extending between the opposed portions of the several straps and at right angles to the straps and constituting conductors for the water to direct the waterexpressed from the material to the sides of the box.

9. A press box including upper and lower sections, a base having upstanding marginal walls within which the lower box section is disposed, guides on the opposed walls of the lower box section, and vertically movable doors in the corresponding walls of. the

upper box section and engaged in said guides and movable by the presser head walls within which the lower box section is disposed, guides on the opposed walls of the lower box section, vertically movable doors in the corresponding walls of the upper box section and engaged in said guides and movable by the presser head downwardly in the guides in the compression of the material, and a plurality of removable separators arranged in the lower section of the box.

11. A press box including upper and lower sections each having detachably and hingedly connected walls, a removable sectional brace bar surrounding the walls of the lower box section, said lower box section being provided with guides upon its opposed walls, and vertically movable doors mounted in the corresponding walls of the upper box section and engaged in said guides, said doors being movable downwardly in the guides by the presser head as the material is compressed.

12. A press box including upper and lower sections each having detachably and hingedly connected walls, a removable sectional brace bar surrounding the walls of the lower box section, said lower box section being provided with guides upon its opposed walls, vertically movable doors mounted in the corresponding Walls of the edges ofthe'opposed Walls of the upper box upper box section and engaged in said section. m guides said doors being movable doWn- In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my wardly in the guides by the presser head as signature in the presence of two Witnesses. the material is oon1pressed,-a central, remov- WILLIAM J. FITZGERALD.

able brace to connect the opposed Walls of Witnesses:

the lower box section, and brace bars adapt- MAURICE LEE,=

ed to be detachably engaged upon the upper WM. H. MAYER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each-by addressing the Commissioner of ratents,

Washington, D. G. 

